Chris Jans shares next steps in Tolu Smith's recovery

Mississippi State is still missing their best piece with F Tolu Smith, the sixth-year graduate student, out of the lineup due to a foot injury he suffered in October. Now, with four games to go before the start of conference play, Chris Jans has the latest on the Bulldogs’ anchor.

Jans provided a form of an update on Smith during a press conference on Monday. He shared that Smith will be undergoing a scan on his foot later this week. From there, he and the program will have a better idea of his official timetable for a return.

“He has a scan scheduled for Thursday, the day after our next game,” said Jans. “He’ll have a scan. At that point, I’ll know a lot more in terms of when he’ll transition back to practice.”

However, as of now, the plan is for Smith to ramp up with some light work on the practice floor. That includes non-contact drills without opposition after he has started to get some shots up as of late.

“In the next couple of days, he’ll be doing some five-on-zero things with us in the half-court, for sure. And then, maybe, even in the full-court,” Jans said. “He’s still not allowed to have any contact or anything like that. But he has been shooting on his own. Getting some free throws in, some jump shots, and stuff around the basket just one-on-zero.”

This is Smith’s fifth season in Starkville after starting his career at Western Kentucky. In his last three seasons, he has averaged 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on 57.2% shooting from the field in 84 starts over 85 games.

That included his last season where he averaged a career-high in scoring at 15.7 per game and tied his career-best for rebounding at 8.5 boards. He earned a selection on the All-SEC First Team because of that production. He then took the Bulldogs to a First Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament, their first in four years.

Smith did test the waters for the NBA Draft before deciding to return to The Hump in ’23-’24.

Coming into this season, many voted him as a Preseason All-SEC selection. Some even gave him attention as a potential SEC Player of the Year candidate or All-American. This injury, though, has kept him out for the duration of the season so far and may continue to keep him out until the start of the new year.

At 7-2, Mississippi State is off to a good start without their most experienced player and difference maker. Still, by the end of this week, Jans is hoping to have an even better update when it comes to a potential return for Smith.

“We’re hoping, fingers crossed, that we get a good update on Thursday and then I’ll know more then,” said Jans.